Cotton-press



(No Moda.) 3 sheets-sheet 2. W. S. LIDDBLL.

COTTON PRESS. No. 500,238. Patented JuneZ', 1893.

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Patented June 2'7, 1893.

Mm gg Unirse STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'ALTER S. LIDDELL, OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA.

COTTON-PRESS.

SPECIFICATIOIC'J forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,238, dated June 27, 1893.

Application tiled January 18, 1893. Serial No. 453,761. (Nomodel.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER S. LIDDELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Charlotte, county of Mecklenburg, and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful 'Improvement in Cotton-Presses, of which the following isafull, clear, and exact description, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, making -part of this speciiication.

My invention relates to that class of presses employing a moving box or press chamber in connection with a stationary platen in the operation of compressing the cotton, and more specifically, to the means for guiding the moving box and taking the outward or lateral pressing strain; to the manner of hinging the sides or doors of the box or press chamber, whereby they are disconnected from and made movable independently of the lower platen or follower; to an arrangement of means for releasing the resistance of the stationary platen and freeing the bale after it has been tied, without necessitating the lowering of the box and lower follower, and to the means for balancing the weight of the press box, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved press; Fig. 2 avertlcal section through the same; and Figs. 3 and 4, enlarged, detail views, showing the manner of hinging the box sides or doors and the means for securing the same when closed.

- A, A indicate the corner posts of a strong, upright frame and A, A2 the horizontal bars thereof, the transverse bars A being secured to and projecting on the inner sides of the corner posts, as shown. To these bars A', intermediate the corner posts, strong upright rods or through bolts a, a, are secured, one at each corner of the press box or chamber, and upon these rods, sleeves 0L', are mounted, to which the box is secured, as will appear, the sleeves sliding up and down on the rods with the box. The box is shown divided, about centrally of its vertical length, the upper part B being made preferably, with permanent or the box has its frame timbers hinged to the sleeves, each at one end, for adapting the sides and ends of the box to swing like doors thereon. The sides and ends of said lower part may each constitute a single door, as shown at lthe end B, or the sides, or front and rear may be made in the form of double doors, divided vertically at the center as shown at B2,B3 and separately hinged, each to its respective sleeve. The frame bars or battens b2, b3 of the door B3 have bars or straps c, c secured to them, one to the lower face of the upper bar b2, and the other to the upper face of the bar or hatten b3, which, where the door is divided as shown, passes also over the battens of the door B3, engaging and projecting beyond the latter, as shown in Fig. 4 and provided at their ends, the upper one b2, with a downwardly projecting spur c2 and the lower one with an upturned spur c3. The end doors B have bearing brackets d, secured to their outerfaces, at their swinging ends and in these arejournaled the ends of a bail or angular rod D, the extreme ends of which projecting beyond the bearing brackets, are bent at d into hook or crank form,adapting them to engage the spurs c2 and c3 as shown in Fig. 4. The central portion of the rod D is bent into loop or double crank form and engages a hasp e fast on the swinging end of the door or side B. By this arrangement the side and end doors are locked together when closed. The shank of the hasp e is made slightly elastic, and by strikingalight blowen the hasp, it is made to release the rod D, when the latter will be turned in its bearings to release and allow the doors to open.

The box B, B is made separate from the lower platen or follower F, and is connected at its upper end to cords or chains f which pass up over pulleys f and have weights f2 attached to their other ends,sufficient to counterbalance the weight of the box. By this arrangement the box is adapted to be moved up or down easily by hand, and, simply resting on and not being secured to said lower follower, it can be stopped at the floor line, indicated at Gr, Fig. 1, for the tying and removal of the bale, while the follower descends to proper position to receive the box for refilling, after the bale has been removed and the doors have been again closed for that purpose. The

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hinging of the doors by the vertical hinges or sleeves permits the doors to remain open and uphold the box While the follower descends as described,whereas, if the doors were hinged to the platen, in the usual manner, the descent of the platen through the floor opening would close the doors and prevent the removal of the bale.

The platen or follower F, is separate from the box, but forms the flooring for and moves the latter upward with it in compressing the cotton; it may be constructed and connected to the piston rod h of the steam cylinder H to be operated thereby, in any usual manner, or any suitable means may be employed for operating the box and follower.

I indicates the upper, stationary platen against which the cotton in the moving box is compressed. It is suspended from the upper press-frame, cross bars A2, by toggle joints J, J and is provided with corner posts or uprights j, j', which serve to steady and hold it firmly against the pressure of the cotton. The toggle joints or links J and Jhave links 15,10', connecting them with a cross head 7a2, on an intermediate rock-shaft at Z, journaled in suitable hangers Z on the upper frame bars A. An uprightarm Z2 of the shaft Z engages a fork m, also on a rock-shaft m journaled in the hangers Z and provided at one end with a hand lever m2, by means of which the fork, and with it the cross head 702 and toggle joints can be vibrated from the positions shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines (and vice versa) for lifting the platen I, and releasiing the bale for removal, after it has been tied, without moving the lower follower.

By the construction described and the arrangement of the vertical rods a, and the sleeves sliding thereon, the sleeves are made to sustain the lateral pressure of the cotton and the box and the doors or sides of the box being connected to the said tubes or sleeves, the frictional resistance to the sliding of the box consequent on such pressure, is removed from the' rods, thereby permitting the employment of lighter rods than would otl1er wise be practicable.

Having now described my invention, I claim as new- 1. The combination with the press frame, of the press-chamber corner-rods, the sleeves sliding on said rods, and the press chamber secured to and moving with said sleeves,sub stantially as described.

2. The press-chamber and its doors in combination with the sleeves to which said doors are hinged and the rods on which said sleeves and the chamber slide, substantially as described.

3. The press frame provided with guide rods for the movable press chamber, in combination with the press chamber secured to and moving with sleeves mounted on said rods, the sleeves to which the sides of the press chamber are secured, and the independently movable follower actuating said chamber, substantially as described.

4. The press chamber made separate from and movable independently of its actuating follower, in combination with the guiding rods therefor, the sleeves sliding on said rods and to which the press-chamber si des are secured, and, the counterbalancing weights connected to said movable chamber and operating substantially as described.

5. The movable press-chamber provided with the hinged sides, the resisting platen Within said chamber, over which the chamber moves, and which is held stationary during the operation of pressing and the follower for moving the chamber and compressing the material therein against the resisting, stationary platen, in combination with the means for releasing the resistance of the stationary platen and permitting the removal of the bale, substantially as described.

6. The hinged press-chamber sides or doors, in combination with the projecting bars provided with spurs c2 and c3, the angular rod or bail D having the crank ends for engaging said spurs and the hasp e for engaging said rod, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of January, A. D. 1893.

WALTER S. LIDDELL.

Witnesses:

B. L. WEDENFELLER, H. C. IRWIN. 

